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Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova now visible with small telescopes

Periodic comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova has now brightened sufficiently that it can be seen with small telescopes in the evening sky towards the west just after sunset. On New Years Day, the comet shone at apparent magnitude +7.1. Although not bright enough to be seen with the naked eye it can be spotted with small/medium size telescopes. However with binoculars it's a challenging object - not because of its magnitude - but due to its low altitude at dusk.

The comet remains low down for the first three weeks of January before it disappears behind the Sun for a short time. It then re-emerges in the morning sky during early February before moving rapidly north and passing the Earth at just 0.0843 AU (12.6 million kilometres or 7.8 million miles) on February 11th. From northern latitudes 45P will be well placed during this time although it rapidly fades after "swinging" by Earth.

The illustrations below show the view 45 minutes after sunset towards the west during January from New York City. From other mid-latitude northern locations the view will be similar. Also from southern latitudes the comet appears low down during this time.